Message Stick – Babinda Boulders

Clip 2: The legend of the Devils Pool

1 min 28 sec

Taken from the TV program Message Stick – Babinda Boulders (2005)

Original title classification not known – this clip chosen to be G

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Availability of the complete title

Please be aware that this clip may contain the names, images and voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who may now be deceased.

Curator’s clip description

Annie Wonga, Yidinji elder, tells the Dreaming story of the Devils Pool.

Curator’s notes

The Aboriginal story of the Devils Pool, as recounted by Annie Wonga, is an ancient love story. The men who disappear apparently succumb to the woman spirit that dwells in the water, who pulls them in thinking they are her lost lovers. Daryl Murgha sees the Aboriginal legend as an explanation for the many deaths of young men at the Devils Pool. This story is a wonderful example of how one location can have different meanings to different people, depending on which story is believed.

Romaine Moreton, curator

australian screen